Reading, listening to, and questioning America... from the southern Great Plains

Could we be a little more intelligent here? Or...

Or must we obey the whimpers of trumped up fear and smug racism, not to mention outright inhospitality, coming from "America's heartland"? Some heart, right?

And how about stupid, really stupid!

Strategists will tell you that it is a mistake to fight the battle your enemies want you to fight. You should impose your strategy on them, not let them impose theirs on you. These lessons apply to the struggle with the leaders of ISIS. We have applied pressure upon them in Syria; they have replied with atrocious attacks in Ankara, Beirut, and now Paris. They are trying to provoke an apocalyptic confrontation with the Crusader infidels. We should deny them this opportunity. ...MichaelIgnatieff,NYRB

The solution? Be the real America, the country whose largest population is made up of refugees -- from pilgrims to present day. For no good reason, President Obama is keeping the doors closed. At this point, our country is "behaving like a bemused bystander, watching a neighbor trying to put out a fire, it can then put pressure on allies and adversaries to make up the shortfall in funding for refugee programs run by the UNHCR and the World Food Program," Ignatieff writes. And, he goes on to say, we need to put sticks in sides of Russia and China who help not at all.

The Chinese have done little or nothing for refugee relief in the Middle East, and the Russians are energetically creating more refugees with their bombing campaign while contributing a paltry $300,000 to the UNHCR Syria appeal. As for the Saudis, the richest state in the region, they have contributed less than $3 million. ...Ignatieff,NYRB

None of us has any defensible right to refuse to help. Even if you don't like the idea of accepting more refugees, you'd be downright stupid to allow your inhospitality to feed resentment. "If Europe closes its borders," Ignatieff concludes,"if the frontline states can no longer cope, the US and the West will face millions of stateless people who will never forget that they were denied the right to have rights. In a battle against extremism, giving hope to desperate people is not charity: it is simple prudence."